Manama: A mother in Saudi Arabia who forced her three children to jump out the window of a burning second story flat said that their tears and fears prompted her to act.
“I knew we had no chance to survive the fire as it was spreading throughout the flat, and I had to act quickly,” Umm Nabeel said. “It was the most difficult decision I have ever made, but I went ahead and forced them out of the window before I jumped after them,” she said, quoted by Saudi daily Al Madinah on Monday.
Umm Nabeel and her three children, Nabeel, 11, Shifa, 10 and Alyan, three, were in their flat in the Saltana neighbourhood in Madinah when the fire started.
The mother decided to drop her children from the window one by one as the fire threatened to engulf the building they were staying in.
“I was in the kitchen preparing the Suhoor [the meal that precedes the start of the fast] for the second day of Ramadan when the fire started and quickly spread out. I tried to put it out in a primitive manner, but I failed and I eventually opened the window and called for help. Some people understood the danger and tried to break into the flat, but there was so much smoke that the risks were too high. I took my children next to window where we could get some fresh air and avoid death by suffocation,” she said.
People started to gather next to the building, offering suggestions to the mother and her children.
“I was really distraught. My children were crying and the flames and the smoke were coming ominously towards us. My mind was racing and I was trying to make sense and weigh all the options. It was a matter of life and death,” she said.
“Suddenly, I saw some men who brought a large piece of cloth that they spread and everybody shouted that we should jump. It was a difficult situation and I did not know what to do.
"I was torn between throwing the children out of the window and the risks of death inside the flat or on the pavement if the rescue went wrong. I finally decided to force Alyan out. He was the youngest and he was deeply scared from the fire.”
The boy landed safely and the mother then let Shifa and Nabeel out of the window. She eventually followed them, jumping out of the room.
“I will never forget these excruciating moments. Deciding to throw your children from a height of seven metres is not easy at all, but I had no options. It was our destiny to have a new life,” she said.
Umm Nabeel said that she was thankful for the rescuers and for the support as her family had to live through very agonising and anxious minutes.
“They were truly brave and supportive,” she said.
